Category Archives: Featured

I know not everyone shares this opinion but I think frogs are captivating creatures. As a kid, anytime someone asked me what my favorite animal was, I replied very self-assuredly that is was the frog. I’m not sure why this was, considering pigeons dominate New York City wildlife, not frogs. And whenever anyone used the words “frog” and “toad” interchangeably, I was quick to let them know that frogs are not toads and toads are not frogs! My obsession with frogs has diminished considerably, but I still find them quite photogenic — their big eyes, their astonishing variety of colors and skin textures; they are ornate amphibians. So, if frogs don’t make your skin crawl, you will definitely enjoy the following images.

The night sky is a canvas of innumerable wonders; granted, some people look up at night and don’t have much interest in what they’re seeing, operating under the assumption that it’s the same ol’ thing as any other night. I suppose such an opinion can be pardoned, given that much of what happens in the night sky is subtle and often out of reach of the naked eye. But sometimes the skies do put on a pretty spectacular show: lunar eclipses, auroras, and meteor showers. Check out these amazing examples of shooting stars.

Anyone who has ever spent much time on the subway will understand that life underground is not drastically different from life above ground; almost anything that people will do at home, they will also do on the subway. This includes — but is by no means limited to — eating, sleeping, listening to music, arguing with family members, personal grooming/getting dressed. You get the idea. If you’re into photography, you may find the subway to be a paradise of sorts where, in spite of the confined space, life happens unabated.

As 2015 comes into clear focus, Toad Hollow Photography has been actively seeking links to the best tutorials, reviews, special features, great photography and interesting blogs to share here with everyone. This weeks list features a wide variety of content and type, produced by some of the best artists working in the field today. We hope you enjoy checking out these pictures and articles as much as the Toad did himself in bringing this list to you.

High key photography, when done properly, can yield some spectacular results. Originally developed, in part, as a means of overcoming the fact that early film and television were severely limited in their ability to handle high contrast situations, the technique was soon adopted by photographers as yet another creative way to express mood — typically a happy or energetic mood. While the high key look can be achieved in Photoshop, purists will insist on doing it the “right” way: using multiple light sources, bumping up exposure a bit, etc. True high key photography is not about overexposure; it is, rather, about bright, nondirectional lighting and a lack of contrast and shadows. Here are 16 radiant examples of high key imagery.

Less is more. It has become a rather trite expression, but that doesn’t make it any less true. There are times when creative works benefit by being constructed from only the bare essentials, no extraneous stuff. No distractions. Minimalism, or the use of stripped-down design elements, is about, as comedian Bob Newhart once declared, “saying the most with the least.” It’s not always necessary to fill the frame in order to make an interesting photograph. To be sure, minimalism is wide open to interpretive flourishes; macro, negative space, and abstract photography can also be minimalist photography. This a highly effective artistic strategy, beautifully demonstrated in the images in this post.

Cyber Monday is about the best time of the year for photographers to get in and grab a bargain on those purchases they have been thinking about. And this year is a bumper crop. If you’re lucky, a few of the Black Friday deals for photographers that we mentioned last week (and the education deals) will still be going. But the ones below definitely are and you should jump on them as most will be gone on Tuesday!

If you’re looking to up skill your photography quickly and cheaply, then Black Friday is a great day to take advantage of. The deals from photography educators are running fast and thick and the savings are huge. This weekend (Friday and Cyber Monday) are pretty much the biggest chance of the year for these deals so grab them while they’re up. Here are the products with discounts we have been able to find so far!

Black Friday is here. Retailers far and wide have been relentlessly advertising everything from autos, fashion, jewelry and toys. And for photographers, we are definitely not an ignored bunch. If you need a little help making your own personal wish-list or finding gifts for your photographer-friends or relatives, we are here to help. In this post we bring you some great Black Friday photography deals from Amazon. Grab them while they last.

“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all,” wrote Stanley Horowitz. It is apparently the succinctness and vividness with which Horowitz describes autumn that has so resonated with people searching for seasonally appropriate quotes. Accordingly, the macro images that follow all embody, to one degree or another, the brilliant patchwork of seasons that is autumn.

“There’s a time when people say your work is revolutionary, but you have to keep being revolutionary. I can’t keep shooting pop stars all my life. You have to keep changing, keep pushing yourself, looking for the new, the unusual.”Rankin